UNLV Libraries Collection of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino Promotional and Publicity Materials (MS-00959)

Treasure Island is a hotel and casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Las Vegas Strip near the Fashion Show mall, Grand Canal Shoppes, and the Mirage Hotel and Casino. It is the birthplace of Cirque du Soleil's longest running show Mystère, which had its first show on Christmas day of 1993. Under the direction of Steve Wynn, Mirage Resorts opened Treasure Island on October 26, 1993 at a cost of $450 million. The hotel originally had a heavy pirate theme, featuring an iconic skull and crossbones sign and free pirate shows, including Battle of Buccaneer Bay. The pirate theme was not as popular as Wynn had hoped, and the property began a series of renovations to improve the hotel’s image. These renovations started in 1999 with a $65 million guest room and public area redesign. In 2003, Treasure Island made a series of changes to modernize the brand and appeal to a more adult demographic. The property began referring to itself by its initials TI, reflected in a sign that replaced the skull and crossbones sign. Battle of Buccaneer Bay was replaced by the more adult oriented Sirens of TI until October 21, 2013 when it ended due to the construction of retail shops near the location. Billionaire Phil Ruffin bought Treasure Island from MGM in 2009 for $775 million.

Sources:

“About.” Treasure Island. Treasure Island, LLC, n.d. https://www.treasureisland.com/about.

Fink, Jerry. “Adult-Themed 'Sirens of TI' Takes a Stand on the Strip.” Las Vegas Sun. Las Vegas SUN, Inc., October 27, 2003. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2003/oct/27/adult-themed-sirens-of-ti-takes-a-stand-on-the-str/.

Waddell, Lynn. “Steve Wynn Opens His Latest Treasure.” Las Vegas Sun. Las Vegas SUN, Inc., October 27, 1993. https://lasvegassun.com/news/1993/oct/27/steve-wynn-opens-his-latest-treasure/?history/.